How can I feel my emotions without overwhelm?

Feeling intense emotions can be terrifying. This is because some of our strong emotions have the potential to take us back into a place of trauma or retraumatization. And for this reason our protective parts (survival strategies) come up to the surface to protect us.

This attempt to self protect can show up as overwhelm, avoidance, dissociation and many other strategies; dependent on who you are and what situation you find yourself in.

To be able to feel again, without falling back into overwhelm and unhelpful patterns, you need to start feeling the emotions you blocked during trauma.

In order for this to work, without inviting retraumatization into your system, this needs to be done in a safe container with someone who is regulated and know how to work in a titrated manner.

But fear not! There is definitely something you can experiment with, in your daily life, to invite safety and more regulation into your system.

The key word is “Resourcing”

When an unpleasant emotion visits you.
You can feel the sensations, that accompany it, in your body, while feeling your feet on the ground, as you imagine a safe place and/or a safe person holding you.

If you start to notice yourself getting too anxious, dissociating or shutting down, put your full attention back on the resource (the feet on the ground and the image of a safe place and person holding you).

Only do this for as long as it feels ok for you. It could be a couple of seconds or a couple of minutes. It’s different for each person.

It’s best to start practicing this with low intensity emotions. Start low and build up as you feel more confident.

I would love to hear what is your experience once you have tried this.